Live, Video: Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso for violin and orchestra, Op.28

Elim Chan lead the Los Angeles Philharmonic through a high-powered program of Chinese and French music that began and ended with virtuoso showpieces written less than 30 years apart.

Last night’s concert in the Usher Hall contained so many different strands, that it defies simple categorisation. One of a series of nine concerts in Scotland, its first objective was clearly to promote Miss Benedetti’s latest CD, The Silver Violin. This recording features tributes to many of the great composers who wrote film music for the silver screen, hence the title.

Even though I’ve been to quite a lot of concerts these past few years, I still can’t put my finger on why some concerts attract many attendees and especially why some are so sparsely visited.

Celebrating the worldwide release of his first orchestral album, Tchaikovsky and Mendelssohn: Violin Concertos, Ray Chen presented a fairly typical selection of classical music: Bach, Brahms, Tchaikovsky and Saint-Saëns. But from the moment Chen took to the stage at (Le) Poisson Rouge, it was clear the evening’s concert was bound to break a few rules.

Young violinists come in different shapes and styles, and this closing concert of the series of afternoon concerts by young performers in Gstaad Chapel was very different from yesterday’s. Where Albrecht Menzel was all about flamboyant virtuosity, this performance by 22-year old German Lukas Stepp was a far more thoughtful affair.

Pour ce concert avec l’Orchestre National de France, Jean-Claude Casadesus choisit d’élaborer son programme autour d’œuvres françaises composées entre 1863 et 1924. Un choix compréhensible pour celui que l’on tient comme l’un des derniers gardiens des traditions de cette musique. Un tourbillonnement spatial et musical qui ne saurait être possible sans le minutieux travail de Casadesus, ni le panache de Sarah Nemtanu.

Le Festival de Colmar s'est achevé le 14 juillet par un concert où deux motifs, « violon », « Amérique », venaient conclure de manière pertinente 10 journées consacrées à la mémoire de Jascha Heifetz.

L’Orchestre national de Lyon nous offre une soirée de musique française, avec pour invité d’honneur le jeune violoniste Daniel Lozakovitj. Au programme, des œuvres de Saint-Saëns pour orchestre, orchestre et violon, et la Symphonie n°3 « avec orgue ».

Eine Hommage an den einflussreichsten Geiger des 20. Jahrhunderts gab Charlie Siem in München mit einem vielseitigen und abwechslungsreichen Miniaturen-Programm.